Indian, Indonesian and Gulf lenders posted sharp profit gains for the first half of 2026, while tourism authorities in Morocco and Abu Dhabi reported visitor and revenue increases that extend a broad post-pandemic recovery. The earnings, driven by widening interest margins, rising fee income and improving loan quality, came as the travel sector benefited from expanded airlift and strategic investment in attractions.

India’s IDFC First Bank saw net profit more than double to Rs 10.75 billion ($128 million), helped by a 25-basis-point expansion in net interest margin to 5.96 per cent and a decline in gross bad loans to 1.51 per cent. AU Small Finance Bank, also in India, lifted profit 37 per cent to Rs 7.96 billion, with net interest income up 32 per cent and asset quality improving. In Jakarta, Bank Jago, a digital lender, reported net profit 49 per cent higher at 189 billion rupiah ($11.5 million) as customer accounts swelled to 20.1 million and its non-performing loan ratio remained below one per cent. Gulf lenders posted similarly robust results: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s first-half net profit rose 34 per cent to $1.82 billion, with a record-low NPL ratio of 1.71 per cent, while RAK Bank of the United Arab Emirates lifted profit to $463 million as non-interest revenue jumped 60 per cent.

Tourism data from the same geographies reinforced the picture of expanding services activity. Abu Dhabi’s hotel occupancy reached 64 per cent in May, and the emirate is targeting 39.3 million visitors a year by 2030, a goal underpinned by plans to add 18,000 hotel rooms and promote cultural sites on Yas and Saadiyat islands. Morocco recorded 9.4 million tourist arrivals at border points in the first six months of the year, a 6 per cent rise, driven by double-digit increases from Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. Travel receipts swelled 14.6 per cent to 53.8 billion dirhams ($5.4 billion) by May, according to the finance ministry’s research arm.

The twin boost to bank balance sheets and tourism revenues adds to evidence that consumption and services are carrying growth in economies that have historically relied on commodities. For lenders, the near-term focus shifts to the trajectory of policy rates, with the Reserve Bank of India’s next review in August and Bank Indonesia’s easing cycle likely to shape net interest margins. In tourism, the Northern Hemisphere summer season will provide the first test of whether ambitious visitor targets in the Gulf and North Africa can be sustained without straining existing infrastructure.